It’s not Tatooine, the planet where Luke Skywalker lived in Star Wars. Kepler-16b, this is the name of this planet distant about two hundred light years from Earth and discovered by NASA’s Kepler space telescope, is cold and at least partially gaseous, more or less the size of Saturn. What it has in common with Tatooine is the fact that it orbits two stars so there are astronomers who began to call it informally with that name.

The two stars of the Kepler-16 binary system are smaller than the Sun: one has a mass that is approximately 69% of the Sun, the other only 20%. The Kepler-16b planet orbits both stars in about 229 days, more or less like Venus, however it’s outside the habitable zone where water can be liquid on the surface of a planet due to the reduced mass of the two stars.

In observing the two stars, astronomers noticed how they eclissed each other when they pass in front of each other but also noticed a further drop in brightness at other times. This suggested the existence of a planet passing in front of the stars and the analysis of the observations indicated that it orbits both of them.

Previous research suggested the possibility of binary systems with planets orbiting both stars but this is the first time that astronomers can actually confirm this possibility. According to theoretical evaluations, a planet should be distant from the stars seven times the distance between the two stars but Kepler-16b is distant only about half this limit. Therefore this discovery will allow scientists to refine our understanding of stellar systems and their evolution.

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As mentioned, planet Kepler-16b isn’t habitable but if at least it had a solid surface to land on it would be possible to have a truly extraordinary show like the one seen in Star Wars with two suns that rise and set at different times chasing one another. It really is a case where reality matches the most beautiful moments of science fiction!